Phoebe - Husker's Hope Dachshund Rescue

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Phoebe

Phoebe's story began in a small town in Southern Nebraska. Her owners got her as a puppy, and she lived outside. With that, she acquired issues with fleas, so her owners bought some flea and tick medicine. Her owners did not read the label or perhaps bought the wrong dose. In either case, Phoebe began to develop small areas of redness. The owners thought it was hot spots, and treated it with an alcohol based hot spot spray. Within a month, those little spots turned into quarter sized scabs that would not heal.
	They never took Phoebe to the vet to get her help, relying on over-the-counter remedies for a condition that required medical attention. Three months later, at just 10 months old, Phoebe was in such bad shape that they finally reached out to a Great Dane Rescue volunteer for help. They reached out to me and this is the picture they sent to me. Please know that these pictures will turn your stomach and break your heart, but they show the extent of Phoebe's injuries, due to complacency and ignorance.
Carla instructed the transport rescue to take her to the vet immediately. Phoebe was in the beginning stages of septic shock, as the chemical burn was the most severe I've ever seen. They gave her antibiotics and performed hydration treatment, which consists of running water over the area, to loosen the scabs enough to allow them to fall off.
	Carla and her husband, Steve, drove the next day to pick little 10 month old Phoebe and take her home. Her wound was horrific, to say the least. We did another hydration treatment upon arrival, within the hour it was already forming new scabs. The picture to the left is what she looked like that day. That night, she slept with Carla on sterilized white sheets, that had to be kept moist to prevent a painful extraction in the morning. Carla stayed up most of the night, afraid that Phoebe might rub the wrong way and cause further damage to the wound area.
That morning Carla took before and after pictures, of Phoebe's wound, using the hydration treatment. And, it just did not appear to be enough for this intense type of burn. Plus, Carla was concerned for Phoebe in other ways. Phoebe was a puppy, and did not want to play; just wanted to be held; but did wag her tail when other pups came to meet her.
	Carla called her vet and asked for an emergency appointment and that afternoon, and took Phoebe in. The doctor was not surprised by extent of the burn, given the time and lack of treatments. But, it really bothered Carla that such an extensive wound needed to be open, which subjected her to potential injury and infection. Be glad this image is smaller. Her wound was a bubbly, oozing mess, fighting to heal.
Carla was concerned about the current hydration style treatment, recommended by the initial vet. There had to be a way to treat her wound, allow it to heal, without leaving it open like this. Our vet agreed that this treatment, while it would eventually heal, was basically a scab-heal-open-scab-heal, etc. This type treatment would leave a scar the same size as the wound. Mind you, that would was 9 inches long and 3 inches wide in the widest spots! Doc had a better treatment. This treatment would require a great deal of work; changing dressings 3-5 times a day, every day, for the next several months. That's all Carla needed to hear. Doc gave her the meds and special gauze she needed to apply, and away she went to start the process!
	That evening Carla applied the new treatment, wrapped Phoebe up and prayed that this would be the trick. As you can see from the photo the treatment was a thousand times more productive than the old-fashioned hydration treatment. No more bubble skin, formed from the shape of the scabs that form. This is a picture of healthy skin healing. We'd post all the pictures to show the progress, but you get the idea. This method not only hydrates the wound, but safely removes the dead tissue without scabs forming; which allows the healthy tissue, that contains healthy hair follicles, to close the wound's gap. The goal, heal the wound and hope it's enough to give Phoebe a beautiful coat of hair, with minimal scaring.
For the next 3 months, this is what Phoebe looked like. Everyday we would unwrap her and re-apply fresh dressings, and wrap her back up. The process was required 3-5 times per day, every day. Within a month, Phoebe started to play and act like the puppy that she was. She was no longer kept apart from the other dogs, and was healing nicely. She even had a special group of people from the news come out to take pictures and tell her story. She was a star! The most exciting part of the healing process was watching her fur grow back. In the end, she had a small scaring, some conspicuous white hairs; she was a brand new pup!
AND, the company that manufactured the flea & tick treatment, though not their fault, actually paid for the entire cost of Phoebe's treatment! About a month after Phoebe no longer needed even a simple Band-Aid, 4 months after she arrived in shock, with little time left, she was adopted by a lovely family. She gets to run and play like crazy with other dogs, kids and anyone that can keep up!
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